In today’s age of crunchy MP3-based digital music, I am still a sucker for beautifully designed box art. A well-designed CD or LP can still exist as a logical extension of a musician’s work, for those of us still addicted to the physical packaging.

Which brings me to the packaging design for Bonobo’s most recent (and fantastic) album, The North Borders. Ninja Tune released an LP boxset that was designed and illustrated by Leif Podhajsky. The boxset design balances rich, fractal-inspired illustration with refined line art.

As Podhajsky puts it on his website, he “explores themes of connectedness, the relevance of nature and the psychedelic experience. By utilizing these subjects he attempts to inspire the viewer into a realignment with themselves and their surroundings.”

I’d have to agree with that assessment when it comes to the illustration work. But one of the coolest things about this set is pushing the line between what the designer usually controls (the label) rather than the entire record. In this box set, the art is etched into the vinyl itself.